My grandmother made a reportedly Polish dish called K'fas (or a close
phonetic approximation) which was a stew that consisted of pork,
raisins, sauerkraut and apples (at least from what I can recall
making it 20 years ago). It was served in a bowl with homemade
noodles (Kluski).

I have Googled, etc. and the closest thing I can find is a dish called
Bigos but its not that close. So I was wondering if anyone here had
heard of it. My grandmother lived in Oil City which is in the
Northwestern part of Pennsylvania in case it's a regional recipe.

Thanks,
Heidi

Heidi wrote:
> My grandmother made a reportedly Polish dish called K'fas (or a close
> phonetic approximation) which was a stew that consisted of pork,
> raisins, sauerkraut and apples (at least from what I can recall
> making it 20 years ago). It was served in a bowl with homemade
> noodles (Kluski).
>
> I have Googled, etc. and the closest thing I can find is a dish called
> Bigos but its not that close. So I was wondering if anyone here had
> heard of it. My grandmother lived in Oil City which is in the
> Northwestern part of Pennsylvania in case it's a regional recipe.
>
> Thanks,
> Heidi

Kwas (kvas) is a Polish word for a fermented drink (can be made from
beets or bread and yeast) and not for a sauerkraut dish. Kwas made with
bread sometimes uses small amount of raisins as flavoring.
Polish term for sauerkraut is 'kapusta kiszona' but
as far as I know there no tradition of combining meat with sauerkraut
AND raisins in Polish cuisine. Up until about 10 years ago raisins were
not cheap and therefore used mostly in baked goods.
My guess is either this was a dish invented by Polish immigrants in
Pennsylvania so it could be anything or it was a simplified version of
bigos (which is more of a concept than a specific recipe) to which your
grandmother decided to add raisins. Bigos usually have a small amount of
tart apples or dried prunes included. Pork loin baked with apples is one
of the traditional Polish dishes.

Monika



Monika

Heidi wrote:
> My grandmother made a reportedly Polish dish called K'fas (or a close
> phonetic approximation) which was a stew that consisted of pork,
> raisins, sauerkraut and apples (at least from what I can recall
> making it 20 years ago). It was served in a bowl with homemade
> noodles (Kluski).
>
> I have Googled, etc. and the closest thing I can find is a dish called
> Bigos but its not that close. So I was wondering if anyone here had
> heard of it. My grandmother lived in Oil City which is in the
> Northwestern part of Pennsylvania in case it's a regional recipe.
>
> Thanks,
> Heidi

Kwas (kvas) is a Polish word for a fermented drink (can be made from
beets or bread and yeast) and not for a sauerkraut dish. Kwas made with
bread sometimes uses small amount of raisins as flavoring.
Polish term for sauerkraut is 'kapusta kiszona' but
as far as I know there no tradition of combining meat with sauerkraut
AND raisins in Polish cuisine. Up until about 10 years ago raisins were
not cheap and therefore used mostly in baked goods.
My guess is either this was a dish invented by Polish immigrants in
Pennsylvania so it could be anything or it was a simplified version of
bigos (which is more of a concept than a specific recipe) to which your
grandmother decided to add raisins. Bigos usually have a small amount of
tart apples or dried prunes included. Pork loin baked with apples is one
of the traditional Polish dishes.

Monika



Monika

Well, I got the recipe off of my dad. I had intended to surprise him
for his birthday but not being able to find the recipe anywhere else
killed that idea.

In case anyone is interested, here it is:

1 large can sauerkraut
6 large pork chops
12 prunes
salt
2-4 sour apples
2 hands full raisins
flour
milk or cream
Water

Put ingredients in a large pot then fill half full of water and boil
until the meat is done. Separately, take 5 teaspoons flour, add 1 1/2
cups milk or cream and slowly cream. Add to meat mixture and simmer.
(When done this is an unappetizing gray color but it tastes pretty
good.)


Kluski

Fill large pot half full of water, salt and boil. Sift together into
large bowl 6 cups of flour and 1 tablespoon of salt. Add 3 eggs and
mix with hands. Slowly add 1 1/2 cups warm water so that the mixture
resembles a pie dough. For eas in handling, put half the mixture on
an ungreased dinner plate. Take a wet tablespoon and press mixture to
side of plate (press to thin it out toward the edge of the plate).
Take a spoon or butter knife (best to keep it wet, too, if I recall
correctly) and cut small slices of this into the boiling water. Make
the noodles small as they will enlarge as they cook. Finish cooking
noodles. (I don't remember how long this took.) Put into a sieve and
rinse in cold water.

To serve

Remove the sauerkraut and meat and put in separate dishes. Serve with
noodles and broth.

The story goes that my mother followed my grandmother (my father's
mother) around the kitchen as she made it. My grandmother didn't
measure anything so my mom had to observe and estimate. (I can
imagine that this annoyed my grandmother who reportedly didn't like my
mother because she was "English" --her term for anyone who wasn't
Polish. My father was her eldest son and my grandmother had wanted him
to marry a Polish woman. She died when I was five years old so I
barely remember her.)

Heidi

Well, I got the recipe off of my dad. I had intended to surprise him
for his birthday but not being able to find the recipe anywhere else
killed that idea.

In case anyone is interested, here it is:

1 large can sauerkraut
6 large pork chops
12 prunes
salt
2-4 sour apples
2 hands full raisins
flour
milk or cream
Water

Put ingredients in a large pot then fill half full of water and boil
until the meat is done. Separately, take 5 teaspoons flour, add 1 1/2
cups milk or cream and slowly cream. Add to meat mixture and simmer.
(When done this is an unappetizing gray color but it tastes pretty
good.)


Kluski

Fill large pot half full of water, salt and boil. Sift together into
large bowl 6 cups of flour and 1 tablespoon of salt. Add 3 eggs and
mix with hands. Slowly add 1 1/2 cups warm water so that the mixture
resembles a pie dough. For eas in handling, put half the mixture on
an ungreased dinner plate. Take a wet tablespoon and press mixture to
side of plate (press to thin it out toward the edge of the plate).
Take a spoon or butter knife (best to keep it wet, too, if I recall
correctly) and cut small slices of this into the boiling water. Make
the noodles small as they will enlarge as they cook. Finish cooking
noodles. (I don't remember how long this took.) Put into a sieve and
rinse in cold water.

To serve

Remove the sauerkraut and meat and put in separate dishes. Serve with
noodles and broth.

The story goes that my mother followed my grandmother (my father's
mother) around the kitchen as she made it. My grandmother didn't
measure anything so my mom had to observe and estimate. (I can
imagine that this annoyed my grandmother who reportedly didn't like my
mother because she was "English" --her term for anyone who wasn't
Polish. My father was her eldest son and my grandmother had wanted him
to marry a Polish woman. She died when I was five years old so I
barely remember her.)

Heidi

Heidi > wrote:

> Well, I got the recipe off of my dad. I had intended to surprise him
> for his birthday but not being able to find the recipe anywhere else
> killed that idea.
>
> In case anyone is interested, here it is:
>
> 1 large can sauerkraut
> 6 large pork chops
> 12 prunes
> salt
> 2-4 sour apples
> 2 hands full raisins
> flour
> milk or cream
> Water
[trimmage]

Looks a bit like kwasnica to me, except, of course, for the raisins and
maybe prunes. This dish is said to be popular among the Poles living in
the Malopolska (Little Poland) region, particularly in the Tatra
mountains. Is that where your grandmother came from by any chance?
There is a recipe in Polish at
<http://www.wrotamalopolski.pl/root_Turystyka/Gastronomia/Regionalne+przysmaki/kwasnica.htm>
and, as far as I can tell, the ingredients include smoked pork ribs,
sauerkraut, potatoes, bacon, garlic, caraway, salt and pepper. Monika,
what do you say?

Victor

Heidi > wrote:

> Well, I got the recipe off of my dad. I had intended to surprise him
> for his birthday but not being able to find the recipe anywhere else
> killed that idea.
>
> In case anyone is interested, here it is:
>
> 1 large can sauerkraut
> 6 large pork chops
> 12 prunes
> salt
> 2-4 sour apples
> 2 hands full raisins
> flour
> milk or cream
> Water
[trimmage]

Looks a bit like kwasnica to me, except, of course, for the raisins and
maybe prunes. This dish is said to be popular among the Poles living in
the Malopolska (Little Poland) region, particularly in the Tatra
mountains. Is that where your grandmother came from by any chance?
There is a recipe in Polish at
<http://www.wrotamalopolski.pl/root_Turystyka/Gastronomia/Regionalne+przysmaki/kwasnica.htm>
and, as far as I can tell, the ingredients include smoked pork ribs,
sauerkraut, potatoes, bacon, garlic, caraway, salt and pepper. Monika,
what do you say?

Victor